Scrum Ceremonies | Verge Arts Group

On December 16th Arts Interstices hosted a conversation via Google Hangouts among dance and theater improv artists and Agilists from various parts of the US. The following is a briefing on some essential themes this cross-sector dialogue uncovered regarding the serious interest business is taking today in this art form.

“Yes, And…”

People feel threatened when choices are unduly restricted. With a narrow set of options, positions become entrenched and even the simplest conversation become difficult. Saying “Yes, And…” (rather than “Yes, but..”) is widely acknowledged to be the first guideline of improv. Experienced practitioners emphasize building upon the contributions others have already made, creating an expanded sense of possibility.

“Make Your Partner Look Good”

Imagine going into a meeting with a bad set of nerves anticipating critical scrutiny. Now imagine going in alongside a colleague, shifting your focus to a total dedication to making that person shine as the most brilliant mind on earth. Sea Tea Improv recommends practicing this kind of mutual support as a way to instill trust quickly and powerfully.

“Suspend Disbelief”

Improvisational scenes progress iteratively. Starting with mundane circumstances and then taking the audience along on a journey by adjusting their expectations step by step is conducive to fantastic results.

“Mirroring”

One of the steps towards relaxing in a group is seeing oneself in others. That spark of recognition can be induced through the act of mirroring, used as an icebreaker in Annie Sailer’s movement exercises.

“Spatial Collaboration”

Knowledge workers have few conscious opportunities to read each other and respond nonverbally. Even though these exchanges happen all the time at work, improvisational movement renders them intentional, slowing down the sequence of sensing, perceiving and choosing how to engage.

Scrum Teams That Harmonize

Robie Wood led this workshop at the Paris Scrum gathering in September 2013 with his brother Jody Wood, a deeply experienced improv actor. The description in the program reads: How can we positively charge and orient Scrum Team members toward effective participation in the conversations, activities and innovation necessary to deliver business value? Let’s get team members to Harmonize. To maintain team Harmony, we can draw on examples from the Arts where Harmony is sustained by using improvisation to adapt to changing complexity. The “Scrum Team that Harmonizes” workshop employs improvisation exercises from the Acting world that are designed to work on the specific skills needed by team members to perform effectively in each of the four types of Scrum Meetings.

Robie will host the next Hangout scheduled for later this month, and we’ll include international participants. Further exchange will advance the dialogue and lay groundwork for intelligence-gathering and sharing of effective practices for how improv is being used today in business settings. Practitioners can plug into this conversation by emailing artsinterstices@gmail.com or rwood@willshowvalue.com.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFORMATION

Sea Tea Improv http://seateaimprov.com/

Annie Sailer Dance Company http://anniesailer.com/d-a-n-c-e/statement

ShowVALUE http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=15275730&locale=en_US&trk=tyah2&trkInfo=tas%3ARobie%20Woo%2Cidx%3A1-1-1

JW Actor’s Studio http://www.jwactorstudio.com/

Too many conversations lately go something like this:

Me to startup leader: are you Agile?

Startup leader to me: as Agile as our clients let us be.

Image: choreography by Ann Carlson, used with permission. More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Carlson

When I speak to various groups on The Agile Mindset, I point out that enlightening clients about the benefits of Agile begins with conversations leading up to the initial agreement. While it’s less important to negotiate a contract than it is to simply collaborate with the customer, language choices do tend to support certain ways of working.

I was pretty pleased with my last experience using a Scrum-friendly contract. The client said, “Wow, this is short!” I replied, “Yep, let’s get to work!”

As always, get legal advice from a qualified attorney when you need it. This is not legal advice. I offer these sample blurbs as building blocks for your consideration.

***

The following items shall be presented for acceptance:

Project backlog – revised monthly or as needed
Retrospective report with relevant recommendations for improvement – monthly or as needed
[DELIVERABLES]

The relationship between Client and the Consultant will be managed and sustained by [NAME OF PRODUCT OWNER], who will be responsible for articulating goals and requirements and formally “accepting” the delivery of the work agreed-upon.

Since projects benefit from regular, purposeful, bi-directional communication, meetings shall be scheduled as follows – [INSERT SCHEDULE OF CEREMONIES]. Consultant will remain available – face to face whenever possible – offering reasonable response times, and shall expect that the Client shall be similarly available and supply all information and data as needed to complete the work to mutual satisfaction.

Consultant is happy to use any tools or processes preferred by Client. Consultant will follow an Agile framework, which is a proven way of getting things done based on principles of entrepreneurial science. As an Agile practitioner, the Consultant will help identify strategic opportunities to increase business value for the Client, believing that:

People and interactions are more important than processes and tools.
Working product is more important than extensive documentation.
Close collaboration is more important than contract negotiation.
Responding to change is more important than following a plan.

Last four bullet points are from The Manifesto for Agile Software Development http://agilemanifesto.org/

***

Recently I received this note and cheerful query from a colleague who runs a B2B custom software development company.

“Good news! I think I may have convinced a client to use Scrum methods for their next project.

However I’m not really sure how to draw up the project’s contract. Most of my contracts have very specific tasks and use change orders every time the spec changes. This doesn’t seem like it would work with a Scrum project. Any recommendations?”

So I sent him the above, and added a closing line which applies across the board. Should you ever need backup helping your clients ‘let’ you be more Agile, be in touch for a consultation!

Playing Improv: Planning for the Unplannable

Scrum Friendly Contracts

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